The Mastretta MXT is not very well-known outside of Top Gear buffs who recall Jeremy Clarkson giving the MXT an incredibly hard time for its Mexican heritage. Of course we all know Jeremy is a shock jock more than a motor head these days, so his opinion aside the MXT slots in right behind the Doking as one the more interesting cars on display in Los Angeles. The MXT is the first sports car designed and built-in Mexico, but rather than trying to dethrone Corvette or Mustang, Mastretta is going for the niche market of small, light kit cars. Yes, kit cars. At least north of the border…

You see, the company doesn’t have the funds to make the MXT pass all the safety standards in the USA and we don’t have the legal exemptions available on our side of the pond to allow them to sell low volume specialty cars like they do in Europe. So, if you want one, the fibreglass shell and extruded aluminum chassis will arrive fully assembled with two seats and a radio, all you have to do is un-crate the Ford-sourced engine and transmission, drop them in the rear and crank a few bolts. Of course, I’d take the extra step of removing the fibreglass body and driving down the highway Ariel Atom style, but that’s just me. Shoppers wanting this hot tamale don’t have long to wait with production supposedly underway with shipments starting in the first quarter 2012. Pricing? A moving target that started at $55,000 USD and now is in the $60,000-$65,000 ballpark. Not pocket change, but neither is that Lotus. (But at least the Lotus will at least arrive fully assembled.)